The
Highest Form of Love
The
Greek word agape is
often translated as “unconditional love.” I am not sure that
this adequately describes the agape love of God. Agape love is
unique and distinguished by its very nature and character. It is the
love that God gives humanity. It is a self-sacrificial love given
freely and willingly. The cross of Jesus Christ is the greatest act
of love the world has ever known. In spite of our sinfulness and
ways, God sent His Son Jesus to die for our sin so we can be restored
to the Father without condition. Jesus said, “Greater
love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his
friends.” John 15:13 Jesus
spoke this before He did it. To show the extent of God's love, Jesus
laid down His life for us! He was promised nothing. Agape love is
given without a promise that it will be returned. In spite of the
heartache of letting His only begotten Son suffer and die on the
cross, God did it to redeem humanity who were created in His own
image and likeness. God in the Person of His Son Jesus confined
Himself in human skin, felt our feelings and weaknesses and yet was
without sin. He had to remain sinless in order to pay the penalty of death for sin instituted in the Older Testament. Only One who is God could do this and God knew that when He gave the instructions to Moses. There is no greater love than this.
God's
love isn't based upon a feeling like human love. God loves because
He must since He is love. (1
John 4:8) It is His very nature. His is a heavenly love, not an earthly one. God loves because it expresses His nature and His being. Human love can be fickle and unsteady, but not God's love. God never changes. Therefore, His love never changes. It can never be more or less. It is eternal. Human love can change because of emotions or circumstances, but a Godlike love is unchangeable in spite of the circumstances or emotions. All that God does flows from His love even
His discipline and correction. Love is the motivation behind all of
His other attributes including His hatred and wrath against sin and
wickedness. In order for peace to come and love and righteousness reign, God must remove sin and wickedness.
One
can't fall into or out of agape love – it is a choice. And the
only way we can develop agape love is from the Source. Love is the
crowning virtue in the description of love in 1
Corinthians 13. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy,
it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not
self-seeking. It is not easily angered, it keeps no record of
wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. …..... Now these three remain: faith, hope and
love. But the greatest of these is love.” Because
God is love, He exhibits all of these toward us. And, it is His
desire to bring us to this Godlike love also so we will exhibit His
agape love toward others. God doesn't expect that we will reach His
kind of love perfectly. He wants to develop His love in our hearts
slowly and progressively until we show His heart to others. God
wants to enable us to love others in the way He loves us.
Human
love tends to be conditional. We have expectations of others and
when they don't meet our expectations, we might turn off our love.
In human love, decision follows emotion! But, God's agape love works
exactly the opposite – emotion follows decision. We must decide to
love as God loves in spite of the circumstances. The spiritual is
always the opposite of the flesh and its ways. Agape love wills
itself to work even in the face of fierce resistance or deep
disappointment. Agape love chooses to love before there is an
emotion and in spite of opposing emotions. It loves even in the face
of betrayal and rejection. Jesus
was surrounded with those who hated, rejected, beat, abused and
stabbed Him, and He still died for them and asked the Father to
forgive their sin. Agape love will circumvent and change our
fleshly inclinations of indifference, disgust, jealousy, anger,
resentment, insecurity, superiority, judgment, blame, condemnation
and hatred.
Agape
love is unexpected and undeserved. It exists without any reason.
It is not dependent upon our beauty, intelligence, popularity or
worthiness. It is given freely, fully and willingly in spite of
anything we or others may do. It chooses to love in spite of opposing
emotions, as God chooses to love us in spite of us and the times that we disappoint Him. Those who have
hurt you, embarrassed you or taken something precious from you is the
person you have least reason to love. But agape love says we must,
and agape love will give us a power stronger than our desire for
justice and vengeance—the Holy Spirit. Agape love will cause us to
truly forgive. And only God can bring us to that place of
forgiveness. Matthew
5:43-48: “You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and
hate your enemy.' But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for
those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in
heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the just and the unjust, and
sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those
who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax
collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are
you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?”
We are sons and daughters of God when we extend God's agape love to
others. We have allowed God to put His agape love in our hearts and
extend it to those who hurt us, just as He extends His love to us
even though we are imperfect sinners who hurt His heart of love when
we do the things He hates (sin).
Satan cannot cast out satan! Darkness
cannot drive out darkness. Hatred cannot drive out hatred.
Unforgiveness cannot drive out unforgiveness. Jealousy cannot drive
out jealousy. Anger cannot drive out anger. Vengeance cannot drive
out vengeance. Bitterness cannot drive out bitterness......and so on
and so on. Only the love of God in us can drive out these things.
The Light and love of Jesus will drive out the works of the enemy who
drives us to do these negative, hurtful things. There is no freedom
in these negative emotions. They keep us bound because it is the
devil working in and through us. These negative emotions are the
complete opposite of God's love and ways outlined in 1
Corinthians 13. We must set those who hurt us free by not
being bitter and angry. The way to freedom and being loosed from
these things is the love of God in us toward those who spitefully use
us. Luke 6:28:
“Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who
curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” These
negative emotions divide and conquer. When we continue in these
emotions, the devil is doing what he does best – divide, steal,
conquer and destroy. The answer to Satan's quest to steal, kill and destroy is to allow the Holy Spirit and the Word of God lead and guide you. When we fight fire with fire, the end is
destruction. But when we fight fire with the water of the Holy
Spirit and the Word of God, the devil is defeated.
One
way we demonstrate agape love is by obedience to the Word of God. It
is obedience to the Word of God that shows Jesus that we love Him.
“Whoever has My
commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me.” John 14:21
God
loves us because of who He is – LOVE. However, He doesn't always
love what we do. This is where His discipline and correction will
come. Why discipline? God wants us to experience life and His love
fully as it was with Adam and the Woman before sin entered. Jesus
was fully Man because He had no sin. Jesus lived life in the fullness
that He and the Father want us to experience. This can only happen if
we let go of sin in our lives and allow the Father, Son and Holy
Spirit to put their love and ways in our hearts.
No comments:
Post a Comment